Article Sidebar

Share this Story: Four-Gone Conclusion: U.S. tops Netherlands to win World Cup again

Trending

Article content

LYON — Considering the way the tournament has gone and the way the sport is trending, it was probably fitting the winning goal at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup was scored as a result of video review.

Megan Rapinoe stepped up and calmly slotted home a penalty an hour into the game to give the United States the lead in a 2-0 victory against the Netherlands in the final at the sold-out Stade de Lyon on Sunday.

Four-Gone Conclusion: U.S. tops Netherlands to win World Cup againBack to video

As has been the case with many Video Assistant Referee decisions, this one was debatable and harsh on Netherlands defender Stefanie Van Der Gragt, who caught Alex Morgan with her boot while trying to play a ball in the Dutch penalty area.

Van Der Gragt didn’t see Morgan standing behind her when she tried to clear a looping ball. Initially, a corner was given, but VAR officials suggested French referee Stephanie Frappart take a second look. And when she did, she pointed to the penalty spot, ruling Van Der Gragt had impeded Morgan in the area.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“I’m not focused on the penalty. It’s not about if I thought it was a penalty or not, it’s not my decision. The referee makes that decision,” said Netherlands head coach Sarina Wiegman. “The United States went on to score the goal and they took the lead.”

Up to that point, the Netherlands was putting up good resistance against the United States, but the goal was a gut punch they were unable to recover from.

United States midfielder Rose Lavelle then scored the clincher eight minutes later on a wonderful individual run, turning Van Der Gragt inside out before firing a left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Danielle Van De Donk of the Netherlands is challenged by Rose Lavelle of the USA during the Women’s World Cup final at Stade de Lyon on July 07, 2019 in Lyon, France. (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)Alex Grimm/Getty Images

Down two goals, it was curtains for the Netherlands, who never really threatened the United States goal.

From there, the United States had the better of the chances as it pressed for more and would have added to the total had Netherlands goalkeeper Sari Van Veenendaal not made a handful of outstanding saves trying to keep her team in the game.

Van Veenendaal was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament, winning the Golden Glove Award.

All in all, the United States was the best team in the tournament and deserving of the World Cup title despite the VAR decision. The Americans were the better team in the final and overwhelmed the Netherlands with their speed and skill.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

For the United States, it was its second-consecutive World Cup title and fourth overall to match the four Olympic gold medals it has won. The U.S. bounced back from a disappointing Olympic performance in 2016 where it was eliminated in the quarterfinal.

“I knew that after 2106, we had to deconstruct this and reconstruct it,” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. “That was the plan that I shared with my bosses and they bought in. I just knew we had to continue to evolve and do more things in terms of how we play. The game was growing so fast and we had to go through the process of strengthening our squad, deeper player selection, giving people opportunities. Vetting people, that was hard, but I think that was ultimately the right decision.”

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

United States’ midfielder Rose Lavelle (L) and Netherlands’ forward Vivianne Miedema vie for the ball during the France 2019 Womens World Cup football final match between USA and the Netherlands, on July 7, 2019, at the Lyon Stadium in Lyon, central-eastern France. (Philippe Desmazes / Getty Images)

Despite the gap closing at the top of women’s soccer, the Americans proved they are still head and shoulders above the rest of the world, dispatching four European powerhouses — Spain, France, England and the Netherlands — to win the title. Some of the games may have been close, but the outcomes never really seemed in doubt.

“I think the level overall, it’s growing exponentially every year, so I think four years on from our last win, this was incredibly difficult,” said Ellis. “The teams we had to come through, I think they were some of the best teams in the world. I think in terms of the path and the level, this was pretty challenging.”

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Spain probably had the best chance of upsetting the United States in the Round of 16, but even if the U.S. had not been awarded a controversial penalty in the contest, which Rapinoe put away, the Americans likely would have found a way to win — just as it did against France and England on its way to the final.

United States forward Megan Rapinoe poses with the trophies after the Womens World Cup final on July 7, 2019, at the Lyon Stadium in Lyon, France. (Franck Fife / Getty Images)

Rapinoe finished with six goals in the tournament and won the Golden Boot as the top scorer by virtue of playing fewer minutes than Morgan and Ellen White of England, who also had six goals. Rapinoe was also named tournament MVP, winning the Golden Ball.

“I think we leaned on our experience this entire tournament,” Rapinoe said. “We had some incredibly tough games to play, games where we didn’t play that well and we were under the pump. There were points in different games where it was very difficult. We had some extremely difficult teams that we had to play in the tournament was very difficult.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“I think for some of us older players, especially, we were able to carry a lot of that load and set the example for the younger players.”

For the Netherlands, it was the first World Cup final loss for the women to be added to the three the men have lost.

The Dutch women have made great strides since making its major tournament debut at the European championships a decade ago. They qualified for their first World Cup four years ago in Canada, losing in the second round.

Two years later, they won the European championship as hosts, which set an unprecedented level of expectation heading into the World Cup tournament.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Despite its recent success, the Netherlands went into the World Cup final as underdogs against the United States. The Dutch were looking to survive the first 15 minutes of the game and succeeded, growing in confidence as the game remained scoreless.

Megan Rapinoe of the USA is challenged by Danielle Van De Donk of the Netherlands during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup France Final match between The United States of America and The Netherlands at Stade de Lyon on July 07, 2019 in Lyon, France. (Elsa / Getty Images)

It was the first time the United States had not scored inside the first 12 minutes of a game at this tournament.

The Americans generated a number of good chances towards the back end of the half as Rapinoe on the left and Tobin Heath on the right attacked the Netherlands fullbacks, who had trouble keeping up to their speed.

United States midfielder Julie Ertz had the first chance just under a half hour into the game as she connected on volley from 10 yards out, but it was right at Van Veenendaal, who palmed it away.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Just 10 minutes later, the United States had a two good opportunities back-to-back on crosses from Rapinoe.

Samantha Mewis was able to head one from in tight, but glanced off Van Veenendaal and deflected wide. Less than a minute later Morgan poked a low cross on goal, which Van Veenendaal was able to get a foot on and then gather it after it bounced off the goal post.

Rose Lavelle of the USA celebrates after scoring her team’s second goal during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup France Final match between The United States of America and The Netherlands at Stade de Lyon on July 07, 2019 in Lyon, France. (Richard Heathcote / Getty Images)

Morgan had another good opportunity, taking the ball at the edge of the box, cutting inside and hammering a left-footed attempt on goal forcing Van Veenendaal to make an outstanding diving stop.

The Netherlands lone chance came late in the half off a corner kick as the ball feel to midfielder Sherida Spitse, but her shot went well over the net.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“I’m really disappointed, when you play in a final you want to win the final,” said Netherlands forward Shanice Van De Sanden, who was brought on with 20 minutes left in the game, but had little effect. “But we know how good the U.S.A. is. I think we were really close in the beginning, but I think they had some extra power. You saw that after they scored the penalty they brought more power in the game, but I think we can be proud of ourselves.”

The final brought an end to an exciting tournament with its share of controversy, heartache and outstanding play.

Canada were eliminated by Sweden in the second round, but it was the first time they advanced past the group stage at a World Cup tournament held in Europe.

Share this article in your social network

Share this Story: Four-Gone Conclusion: U.S. tops Netherlands to win World Cup again

Trending

Related Stories

This Week in Flyers

Article Comments

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Notice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.